Teen has allergic reaction to spray tan

Pre-dance spray leaves girl with itchy, burning skin

A teenage girl says when she went to get a spray-on tan before a homecoming dance, an ingredient in the solution left her with itchy, burning skin.

Teen has allergic reaction to spray tan

Pre-dance spray leaves girl with itchy, burning skin

Updated: 10:39 PM CST Nov 12, 2012

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

A Kansas City-area teenager ran into a problem while preparing for her recent homecoming dance.

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Alyssa Misemer, 15, said she had the perfect dress, shoes, hair and accessories for her big evening with her boyfriend. What she didn't plan on was ending the night with painful welts all over her skin.

"It felt like I had a sunburn all over my body with mosquito bites," Misemer said. "It was itching and itching and it throbbed. It was one of the most miserable and painful things I'd ever gone through."

She said one of the things she did to prepare for her date was to get a spray tan. She said the itching started the minute she left the salon, and the hives, rash and welts followed soon afterward.

Misemer said she later learned that one of the ingredients on the tanning solution label was "walnut extract." She has a severe allergy to nuts.

"Had we had any inclination it had any nut oil in it, she would never, ever had gotten that spray tan," Alyssa's mother, Dawn Misemer, said. "I have learned what you think may be safe might not be safe."

Tanning solution is basically a beauty product. Alyssa said she never thought to check the ingredients.

"I thought it was safe and I definitely wish I had checked, because I'm always very cautious about lotions and hair products and makeup products and anything like that," Alyssa Misemer said. "It was really something unexpected."

She said she tried a special wash to remove the tanning solution, but it still took two and a half weeks for her skin to return to normal.

The manufacturer of the tanning solution told KMBC 9 News that the label lists walnut extract, but he said he no longer uses it in the product. The owner of the salon declined an on-camera interview, but said she has never seen such a reaction before. She said it is the customer's responsibility to ask about ingredients.

Alyssa Misemer said she learned a tough lesson about spray tans.

"I probably will never get one again, because I'm fearful of it now," she said. "It was something so traumatic, and you definitely never want to have to go through that again."

People with allergies or sensitivities can ask salons to spray the tanning solution on a small patch of skin to see if there's any reaction. Experts suggest having such tests done well in advance of a special event so that there won't be any surprises upon getting the full treatment.

The salon owner said she does offer patch tests, but customers must request one. The manufacturer said he's had very few reports of skin reactions from his product, but said it is smart for people with allergies to ask about ingredients.